Friday, March 21, 2008

I’ve seen a lot of NCAA tournament games, but I’ve seldom seen one player single-handedly carry his team the way Stephen Curry has in the second half with Davidson against Gonzaga today at the RBC Center.

Curry went into halftime with 10 points on seven field goal attempts – nice numbers, to be sure. Then he scored 22 points in the first 10 minutes, 15 seconds of the second half, getting baskets off steals and drives, but mostly on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers.

If there’s a better shooter in college basketball, I don’t know who he is. Gonzaga’s double-digit lead evaporated. Curry tied the game. And the Wildcats have a chance at a program-changing win.

Incidentally, I received complaints after the ACC tournament about the lack of replays shown on the scoreboard video screen last week at Bobcats Arena. As one fan explained, replay would confirm controversial refereeing most of the time. And when it didn’t , he wrote, the boos should rain down.

The RBC Center isn’t shying away from replay at the first-round opener. Yes, boos have rained down a couple times after questionable calls.

But a sweet Curry jumper is always worth a second look. So were the dunks by Virginia Tech’s Deron Washington against North Carolina and Duke’s DeMarcus Nelson against Clemson in the ACC semifinals.

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About this blog

David Scott has been with the Observer for 28 years and has written about ACC, SEC and other college sports in the Charlotte region. He covers Wake Forest, South Carolina and college soccer for the Observer and (Raleigh) News & Observer.

J.P. Giglio covers the ACC for the News & Observer, where he has worked since 1997, and the Observer.

Andrew Carter covers the North Carolina Tar Heels for the Observer and News & Observer.

Laura Keeley covers the Duke Blue Devils for the Observer and News & Observer. Follow her on Twitter.

Chip Alexander covers the Carolina Hurricanes and college football for the News & Observer, where he has worked since 1979, and the Observer.

Luke DeCock has worked for The News & Observer since 2000. He covered the Carolina Hurricanes and the NHL before becoming a sports columnist for the Observer and News & Observer in August 2008.

Tim Crothers is an author and former senior writer at Sports Illustrated who is joining the sports staff to write a regular column during the rest of the college basketball season.